


you make me weak

by garnetted



Series: weak [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 19:13:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5260379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garnetted/pseuds/garnetted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sapphire finds it hard to convey emotion in her dancing.  Why is it so different in her duo with Ruby?</p>
<p>for the prompt: "Hey. I'm with you, okay?"  from tumblr, human!dance!au</p>
            </blockquote>





	you make me weak

**Author's Note:**

> dance and rupphire are literally my two favorite things in the world so this happened !!
> 
> ruby and sapphire are pretty good friends at the beginning (they aren't Together yet) and then they dance and then some stuff happens. also their duo is to the song "weak" by wet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA_fJZNMoHE :)
> 
> (tbh the most unrealistic part of this is that anyone would choreograph a duo for two girls w a romantic story rip)

Sapphire looked into Ruby’s eyes. Their breathing was heavy and synchronized. Sapphire grabbed Ruby’s hand, interlacing their fingers; their palms were sweaty but neither of them cared. Their eye contact broke and turned towards the mirror in front of them. Their chests rose and fell quickly; Sapphire felt Ruby’s grip around her fingers tighten ever so slightly. The music faded out.

“Yes!” Rose Quartz squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. Instantly Sapphire let go of Ruby’s hand, letting her arm dangle to the side as she tried to catch her breath. The duo partners exchanged tired, proud glances and turned to their choreographer, Rose, for feedback. 

“Not to toot my own horn or anything,” Rose said, “but I love this piece. You two just bring it so much… life.”

The corner of Sapphire’s mouth twitched upward and Ruby beamed proudly. Sapphire had never had a dance this difficult, both physically and emotionally. 

Rose sighed excitedly. “I love it. I mean, you just learned it, so of course it was a bit rough — we’ll work out the counts for the turning section in a minute. But the emotion is already great, you’re showing the story really well. It’s going to be a breathtaking dance. You two compliment each other so well!”

Sapphire shared a knowing glance with Ruby. The two had incredibly different dance styles and personalities, they were basically polar opposites. But Rose had incredible choreographing ability; she used the dancers’ strengths to play off of one another. They smiled at each other — Ruby’s face was flushed from the difficult dance. Of course it was from the dance.

“I had a question about that one middle part,” Ruby said between slowing breaths. “Could we go over timing for it?”

Rose nodded. “Of course. Get some water.”

They caught their breath and began going over the sections of the routine that needed the most work. They clarified the counts and movements, and it was already looking cleaner. 

“Nice, you guys,” Rose said. “Looks like you still have 30 more minutes of studio time — can you try to figure out that lift in the middle? I’m gonna go check on Steven.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Ruby said. Rose shot them a thumbs-up and hurried out of the studio.

Sapphire’s jaw clenched. The dreaded lift. The partnering in the dance, she could handle. The lifts were a bit of a stretch, though — she hated being lifted.

“Do you want to try it full out?” Ruby asked, apparently noticing the slight change in Sapphire’s normally stoic expression. 

Sapphire took in a sharp breath. “Could we try to walk through it slowly?”

“Sure,” Ruby answered. 

They began to walk through the lift step-by-step, and had just gotten it set up when Sapphire stepped down and untangled herself from Ruby. “Okay, I think I’ve got it now.” Total lie. 

“You sure?” Ruby said uneasily. “I don’t want to try it if you aren’t ready.”

“It’s fine,” Sapphire said monotonously. “Let’s just get it over with.”

They set up the lift, and Sapphire tentatively kicked her leg up in hopes of magically arriving in the position she needed to be in — her stomach balanced on Ruby’s shoulder, back arched, legs bent behind her, arms extended. With no momentum, Sapphire didn’t even make it up to her shoulder. 

“Sorry,” Sapphire muttered, stepping backwards, away from Ruby.

“It’s fine,” Ruby said confidently, “we’re gonna get it. Just try to get more momentum, more power so you can get up there.”

Sapphire nodded warily. 

Ruby sensed the uneasiness in Sapphire’s eyes. “Hey, I’m right here. You can trust me.”

Sapphire nodded again. “Okay. Sorry. I just… don’t have the best experience with lifts.” She wiped her sweaty palms on the sides of her leggings.

“I won’t let you fall,” Ruby said. She flexed one of her arms for good measure. 

Sapphire couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright. I’ll try.”

They attempted the lift a few more times, each time a little better than the last. By the time Rose came back into the studio, they had completed it three times in a row — it wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad.

“Did you get it?” Rose asked, holding her 8-year-old son’s hand as she walked in.

“Yeah!” Ruby exclaimed, high fiving a less-freaked-out Sapphire. “It’s not perfect, but we’ll work on it.”

“Sounds good,” Rose replied. “Hey Steven, you wanna see Ruby and Sapphire’s new duo?”

Steven’s face lit up. He nodded, his eyes fixated on Ruby’s massive hair. “Yeah,” he whispered.

Rose chuckled. “Alright. Take a seat and I’ll start the music.” 

Steven sat on the floor against the mirror at the front of the room, knees tucked into his chest. Ruby and Sapphire took their beginning positions, upstage and back to back. Rose started the music and they ran the piece. Steven watched with his jaw wide open the whole time.

The dance ended with Sapphire and Ruby holding hands as the music faded to a stop. Steven clapped his hands enthusiastically, clearly in awe. “I hope I’m as good as you when I grow up,” he said. Sapphire laughed. 

“What did you think, Steven?” Rose asked. “Did you like it?”

Steven nodded enthusiastically. “They did so many turns! I can only do a single pirouette but I’m working on it, I promise. But they did, like, seven!”

The dancers, still trying to catch their breath, laughed. Steven was greatly exaggerating — they only did three pirouettes at the most — but his enthusiasm was appreciated.

Steven continued, “And they looked like they’re really in love!” He turned to Ruby and Sapphire. “Are you really that in love in real life?”

Sapphire’s eyebrows raised — she hadn’t been expecting that at all. She looked sideways at Ruby, who was a deer in headlights. Ruby started to stutter out an answer, but Rose intervened. “Their performance was really convincing, wasn’t it?” she asked her son, who nodded again. 

Rose turned to the dancers. “I just have a few quick notes, and then you guys can go.”

Soon, their studio time was up and dancers for the next class began to trickle inside the studio. Ruby and Sapphire thanked Rose, said goodbye to Steven, and gathered up their bags. Sapphire waved to Ruby, who walked to the bathroom, and sat down in the lobby. She took out her phone to check the time — she had just missed the last bus to her neighborhood, and the next one didn't arrive for another half hour. Great.

Sapphire shrugged on her crewneck and took out her messy ponytail, braiding her hair over her shoulder instead. She sat down, pulled out her phone, and prepared to entertain herself for the next half hour. 

Sapphire had barely refreshed her Instagram feed when Ruby sat down next to her on the bench. “I love it so much,” Ruby said.

It took Sapphire a moment to figure out what she was referring to. Their new dance. Of course. “Me too,” she answered. “It’s so hard, though. We should get studio space to run it again next weekend.”

Ruby nodded. “And the weekend after that, and the weekend after that…” Sapphire laughed lightly. 

“Pretty much. The partnering and floor work is insane.” 

“Mhm,” Ruby agreed. “And look at you, the ice princess is finally performing!” 

Sapphire scrunched up her nose at Ruby, who was grinning mischievously. ‘Ice Princess’ was Sapphire’s nickname, given to her by their ballet teacher because, despite Sapphire’s beautiful technique, she rarely used her facial expression to perform. “What-ever. I just really like the song.”

“Heh, okay. Waiting for your ride?”

Sapphire shook her head. “Taking the bus. It’ll be here soon.”

“The bus?! Dude, I can give you a ride.”

“It’s fine,” Sapphire said politely. 

“Come on, it’s no big deal,” Ruby said. “And plus, don’t we need to, like, hang out more so we can have a deep emotional connection onstage and move the audience to tears?”

Sapphire laughed at Ruby’s theatrics. “When you put it like that, I don’t have much choice but to accept. I do have one condition, though.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to let me buy you a smoothie.”

“Deal.”

—

Ruby always got in trouble in ballet class for her hair being a mess. Her unruly curls barely stayed tucked into a messy bun; shorter curls flopped over the edge of her headband. 

Now, her hair wasn’t tied back, though she was wearing a red headband to keep it out of her eyes. She was only a tiny bit taller than Sapphire, but her afro gave her an extra few inches. Sapphire pulled on a curl while they waited on their smoothies. Ruby stuck her tongue out at her.

They got their smoothies and headed outside. “Wanna sit?” Sapphire suggested.

“Yeah,” Ruby answered, quickly enough for Sapphire to notice. 

The sat down on a bench across from the shop. The sky was overcast, completely covered in grey, but it wasn’t raining, which she was thankful for. She took a sip of her smoothie. Healthy and sweet, the perfect combination for a dancer.

Suddenly, Ruby let out a groan. “Ugh, brain freeze!” Her eyes were squeezed shut, a hand pressed to her temple. 

“Aww,” Sapphire teased. “Try pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth. It helps.”

Ruby continued making a face, but followed Sapphire’s advice. “Damn, thanks. My legs are cold, though.” She shivered violently for added effect.

Sapphire had to laugh. “I’m sure you wouldn’t be cold if you were wearing actual pants.” Ruby was wearing a hoodie, but it was paired with the Nike spandex shorts she’d been dancing in for their rehearsal. Sapphire had noticed a while back that Ruby never shaved her legs. She kind of admired it.

Ruby groaned in response. “But I’m tough.”

Sapphire chuckled again. “Of course you are.”

A comfortable silence settled over them, but Sapphire liked Ruby’s voice. It was uncharacteristically high and barely matched her boxy, muscular frame. Sapphire found it, for lack of a better word, endearing. 

Sapphire said, “So, about the duo. What did Rose say the story was, again?” She remembered what Rose had said word-for-word, but she wanted to hear Ruby’s interpretation.

Ruby shifted. Her voice suddenly turned hesitant. “Didn’t she say it was about, like, being so in love and wondering if the other person feels the same way back? And then we find out that they do, and… yeah. It just, like, goes from there.”

Sapphire nodded. She hadn’t expected Ruby to get so awkward — she’d been acting so confident before. “Mhm.”

“What about you?” Ruby blurted. “What does it mean to you?”

Sapphire kept her gaze emotionless — or tried her best to — and picked at her plastic cup. “Pretty much the same thing. Being in love. Sappy. Romantic.”

Ruby laughed nervously. “Yeah. And you know how Rose is with romance.” She shifted her butt on the bench, accidentally knocking her thigh with Sapphire’s in the process. “Oh, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Sapphire responded automatically. She found it interesting how Ruby had been so invested and open in learning the partnering sequences in their dance. Now, their legs had barely touched, and she immediately apologized.

“Have I ever mentioned how much I love your hair?” Sapphire said. Her stomach was buzzing for some reason. Maybe it was the smoothie.

“Really?” Ruby said, genuinely surprised. “God, it’s so hard to manage, I feel like its always a mess. And I always have to do wall sits in ballet for not having a perfect bun.”

“That’s so stupid,” Sapphire said. She fluffed her hand through Ruby’s hair a few times, loving its texture and volume. “It’s gorgeous. Even if it did keep hitting me in the face during rehearsal.”

“Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry,” Ruby said, concerned until she saw Sapphire’s joking expression. “Ah, here. Take this empty Jamba Juice cup as an apology.”

“Wow, thanks,” Sapphire deadpanned. 

Ruby set down the cup and took Sapphire’s small hand into both of hers. “It’s the best I can do, you have to accept it,” Ruby pleaded with exaggerated wide eyes.

Sapphire broke out of their little charade to comment, “Oh, my god, your hands are so warm.”

“And yours are fucking freezing.” She didn’t let go. 

Sapphire felt a buzz again. This felt different than when the choreography made them hold hands. 

Neither of them spoke. Sapphire’s eyes were on Ruby; Ruby’s eyes were on their hands. How many seconds passed? It didn’t seem to matter.

And then Ruby jumped. She quickly pulled her hands away and shoved them into the pockets of her hoodie. Sapphire’s heart plunged into her stomach. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Oh god, what was that? 

They both started talking at the same time, but Sapphire stopped herself and Ruby just kept going. “I’m really sorry— I wasn’t sure if you— I mean, I didn’t mean to pull anything creepy or anything”— 

“It’s okay, Ruby,” Sapphire interrupted, trying to decipher Ruby’s emotions. 

Ruby turned to look at Sapphire. Her eyes looked so guilty and apologetic; her voice was rushed and high and each word was strung together. “I promise I wasn’t trying to do anything like that.” 

There was a pause where Sapphire pieced together how she was feeling. “Okay.” 

Sapphire’s guarded expression dropped its defenses for a fraction of a second, but it was enough for Ruby to sense the disappointment that had crept into her voice. Ruby’s expression changed completely: wide eyes, breath hitched, nervous, reserved, yet with a spark of hope.

“I mean,” Ruby said slowly, “Unless…”

“Unless,” Sapphire repeated, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sapphire’s memories buzzed with what Steven had said back in the dance studio. “They looked like they’re really in love! Are you really that in love in real life?”

“Oh, my god,” Sapphire whispered, her voice even softer than before. Their eye contact held. 

“‘Oh, my god,’ what?” Ruby said, searching Sapphire’s face for any clue of an emotion. “What are you ‘oh, my god’-ing at?”

Heat rushed to Sapphire’s cheeks. Admittedly, she had never been the best at reading people, but she had spent enough time with Ruby by now that she thought she’d figured out how Ruby felt. And if her suspicions were correct, Sapphire needed to be the one to take a risk.

“My hands are really cold,” Sapphire said. “Could you warm them up for me?”

Ruby’s mouth opened slightly, processing the information. “Of course,” she managed to squeak, taking Sapphire’s hands in her own. 

Sapphire smiled, feeling a strange exhilaration that was new to her. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

“I really like our duo.”

“Me too.”

A pause.

Ruby said, “I think we should wear matching red headbands.”

“So cute.”

“And fishnets.”

“Love it.”

Ruby giggled, a delicate, giddy, mischievous sound that made Sapphire smile.

“You know, I think I have a better way to warm you up,” Ruby said.

“What’s that?”

Ruby released Sapphire’s hands and draped her arm around her shoulder. Sapphire scooted in, closing the space on the bench between them.

“All for the sake of efficiency,” said Ruby. 

“That was painfully cheesy.” Sapphire was blushing anyways.

“But effective, right?”

“Yes. Cheesy but effective.”

“That’s the best kind of effective.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Positive.”

—

The drive to Sapphire’s house was different. Ruby’s disposition had changed: genuinely confident, comfortable, at ease, even relieved. Sapphire simply couldn’t stop smiling.

“I think we should do this more often,” Sapphire said as they neared her house.

“Do what?” Ruby asked. “Jamba Juice and chill?”

Sapphire snorted. “Like. Hang out. Outside of dance.”

Ruby looked like she was trying her best to fight down a huge giddy smile — it wasn’t really working, though. “I agree.”

“We have to bring the audience to tears, don’t we?” Sapphire said slyly. 

Ruby laughed loudly. “Yup.”

“Oh, this one’s my house,” Sapphire pointed out. Ruby pulled the car into the driveway. “Thanks so much for the ride.”

“Thanks for the smoothie.”

“And thanks for warming up my hands.”

“Thanks for being a great partner.”

Sapphire smiled, wishing she didn’t have to go. “See you tomorrow, Ruby.” 

For once, Sapphire didn’t contemplate the possible outcomes of her next action. She kissed Ruby’s cheek lightly, smiled shyly, and got out of the car. Walking up the driveway, she didn’t turn back — and if she had, all she would have seen was Ruby’s intense blush and giddy smile.


End file.
